160292: Detailed ruling on body piercing

Is it permissible for a female to have various body piercing around the body including private parts ? What is the ruling if these piercing were before becoming Muslim ?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

There is nothing wrong with a woman – whose parents
previously did some piercings on her body or who did that to herself when
she was an adult, before she became Muslim or after she became Muslim –
using these piercings to wear some adornments of gold or silver or
otherwise, but that is restricted to two important conditions:

1.

That she should not show this adornment to any non-mahrams
and should show it only to her husband or mahrams if it is in places where
it is permissible for them to see it, such as the ear and nose for example.

2.

That her wearing adornment in these places should not be an
imitation of the kuffaar or of evildoers and immoral people. If wearing
adornment in the belly button is a prevalent custom in some society among
women, then there is nothing wrong with using this kind of adornment. But if
it is only known among immoral women, evildoers and kuffaar, then it is not
permissible to adopt this custom because that is imitating them, and
imitating evildoers is not allowed.

Secondly:

With regard to the ruling on doing body piercing, i.e.,
piercing various parts of the body in order to wear adornments, the ruling
on this action is subject to further discussion:

1.

If having the piercing done involves uncovering the ‘awrah
and having a stranger or non-mahram, male or female, look at it, then this
is undoubtedly a haraam action. The evil of uncovering the ‘awrah is greater
than any benefit in wearing adornments, because uncovering the ‘awrah is one
of the things that are definitively forbidden in our religion. And what
uncovering it leads to of uncovering the ‘awrah and transgressing human
dignity and the temptation to commit sin is much more serious than achieving
the purpose of adornment which may be achieved by simply wearing earrings,
for example.

2.

If the piercing will have an adverse effect on one’s health,
whether immediately or in the future, then it is haraam and it is not
permissible to do it on any part of the body. We have already explained on
our website some of the negative effects that result from wearing piercings
in the lip or tongue. See the answer to question no.
107196.

3.

Moreover, if the piercing of a specific part of the body is a
custom among kaafirs, evildoers, promiscuous people and sinners, it is not
permissible to imitate them. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” Narrated by Abu
Dawood, 4031; classed as hasan by al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Baari,
10/282.

4.

It is also haraam for a man to have piercings on any part of
his body, because that is imitating women. It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas
(may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) cursed effeminate men and women who imitate men and he
said: “Expel them from your houses.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5885. Ibn
‘Aabideen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Piercing the ear in order to
wear earrings is part of the adornment of women and it is not permissible
for males. End quote from Radd al-Muhtaar, 6/420

If the piercing is free of all the reservations mentioned
above, then the ruling is that it is permissible in any part of the body, if
adorning that part is a well known custom in that society, because the basic
principle is that it is permissible for women to adorn themselves, and there
is some evidence to indicate that it is permissible to pierce the ears of a
little girl to put earrings, and by analogy it is permissible to pierce
other parts so long as they do not include the reservations mentioned above.
Moreover, the Hanafi and Hanbali fuqaha’ stated that some kinds of piercing
for the purpose of adornment are permissible.

It says in Radd al-Muhtaar (6/420), quoting from some
books:

If it – meaning the ring in the nose – is something with
which women adorn themselves, as is the case in some countries, then it is
like piercing the ears – i.e., in terms of it being permissible. And the
Shaafa‘is stated that it is permissible. End quote.